Shanghai, May 17 (CTK correspondent) – Czech President Milos Zeman repeatedly showed symptoms of fatigue during his visit to China in recent days, where he increasingly needed his aides’ help with walking, which his spokesman blamed on Zeman’s busy programme and ruled out health problems as a cause.
Before a family photo was taken at a summit on the Silk Road project, fellow state leaders had to wait a while for Zeman’s arrival from the conference hall on a golf cart, the New China agency’s video has shown.
Zeman’s fatigue after his landing in Beijing is also evident on a video broadcast by the Chinese CCTV station, which shows him stagger while descending the mobile boarding stairs.
Presidential spokesman Jiri Ovcacek has told CTK that Zeman’s recent demanding programme is behind his fatigue.
After promoting new generals in Prague on May 8, Zeman left for a three-day tour of the Liberec Region, north Bohemia, after which he straight departed for the six-day visit to China to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and to attend a financial forum, the Silk Road conference and several negotiations with representatives of Chinese companies and offices in the first three days following his arrival, Ovcacek said.
The president spent ten working days “without any rest except for sleep,” Ovcacek said, also mentioning the jet lag.
Ovcacek admitted that Zeman was tired at the beginning of his stay in China, but said this is true of the whole Czech delegation including himself.
He ruled out any health problem on the part of Zeman.
Zeman, 72, suffers from diabetes and polyfunctional neuropathy impairing the sensitivity of his feet.
He left China for the Czech Republic yesterday.
